How to Make Crafts and Activities Relating
the Ten Commandments

Concepts: Rules are important; they keep us safe. God's
rules are important; they show us how to live a good and long life.

Ten Commandments Folding Craft Stick Crafts

sticks are taped together so that when the craft sticks are pushed together from the top and bottom of the stack they fan fold up into a compact stack of sticks for storage. This craft is great to use as a memorization tool. Children can test themselves by unfolding one section at a time to reveal the next Commandment.

3M Scotch Masking Tape, 1-Inch - Other brands will work, but this tape works great! It is the exact color of the craft sticks. (Staple's Tape works better with the washable markers, but it is lighter than the stick and more transparent and doesn't cover the stick as well.)

Permanent Markers, crayons, or colored pencils - (The washable markers don't work well because they smear.)

How to Make the Folding Craft StickCanvas:

1. Cut the one-inch masking into 4-inch pieces.

2. Place two sticks together, side by side, and tape them together covering both the sticks with the tape.

3. Turn the two sticks over so that they are diagonal to you.

4. Place another craft stick next to and below the two sticks that you taped together. Use another piece of tape to tape the bottom two sticks together.

5. Turn all three sticks over diagonally and place another stick at the bottom of the row and tape the last two sticks together. Keep going until you have a whole row of sticks.

6. You can also cover the first and last stick in the row by placing tape over the stick and then folding it back over the stick. It is easier to write on the tape than the craft stick. The ink soaks into the sticks and blurs.

Children can use permanent markers, pens, or colored pencils to write the Bible verse on the sticks and then decorate them. They can also draw a picture on the back of the sticks that represent the Ten Commandments.

If a child messes up while working on his canvas, you can pull off the tape where he messed up and replace it with new tape.

These folding craft stick canvases can also be used for many other purposes. You can also be used to make greeting cards for Mother's Day, Father's Day or Birthdays.

For those of you who like lots of pictures with their directions Matt Johnson sent in these pictures:

Tape two craft
sticks together.

Flip them over
so the
tape is on the back.

Place a craft stick onboth sides of the two
you taped together.

Tape the two new
craft sticks to the
center
craft sticks.

Turn the crafts
sticks
over again.

Place another craft stick
at each end.

Tape the two new
craft sticks to the craft sticks
they touch.

Roads

Set up roads on the floor with masking tape. Bring in small cars
and trucks for the children to play with. Put up road signs at intersections.
Demonstrate how the traffic signs are used.

Practice Obeying Rules Game

Make a big red card and a big green
card. Instruct the children that when you hold up a green card
they can take one step and if you hold up a red card they have to
stay in one place. Play until the children end up at a designated
line.

Rules at Home List

(Kindergarten or older children) Ask the
children what are some of the rules they have at home and write them
on the board. When you are finished discuss why they have each rule.

Class Rules - Talk about class rules and make a list - talk to the children about
the importance of rules in the classroom so that everyone will have
fun and stay safe. Let the children make suggestions and write them
down as they suggest them. When you are all done, take
out 3 to 5 of the most important rules and write them down on
a big piece of paper or on the board. Have the children draw pictures
to illustrate them or have them make their own book of rules.

Traffic Signs

Have the children make traffic signs - Cut out red, green, and
yellow circles from construction paper and have glue them on a rectangle
to make traffic signs.

Stop and listen to God's rules.
Be slow to anger and never cruel.Go with God and he'll go with you.

Follow the Leader

Use one piece each of red, green and yellow construction paper.
Discuss briefly what a stoplight is, why we have one, and how important
it is to obey the stoplight so you don't have a wreck. Have
all the children stand up in a circle around the tables. They
can march, skip, walk, whatever they want, until you hold up a red
card, and then they have to stop where they are. Green they can go
again, yellow means slow, etc. Play this a few times,
and then sit back down to color in coloring sheets. Use only
green, red and yellow crayons. From Bethany Davis

Activity Rug

For an extra time filler or activity, find one of those
activity rugs with roads and streets on them; I have seen them at
Walmart before. Put on the floor, give the children toy cars
and let them play. They will make up their own rules for intersections
if they have enough time. It's a blast to watch. You could also
bring in a racetrack set if you are really brave and supervise them
racing each other. From Bethany Davis

Ten Commandment Craft

I type out the Ten Commandments and then have the students tear the edges of the paper so that it looks old. Then they crumble up the paper. I mix up about 12 tea bags to 1 1/2 quarts of hot water. The students then straighten their paper and dip it into the tea solution. Last, they lay it out to dry. When it dries it looks antique. The kids enjoy this and the adults are impressed. Sent in by Debra Shaver

Ten Commandment Train

One
of the most popular lessons I did was on the Ten Commandments. Each
week I would give each child a train car and wheels (cut from colored
construction paper), and a small round sticker with the number of
the commandment we were doing that week. The first car was the engine
and the last, the caboose. I precut the cars and wheels, and wrote
a simple version of the commandment on each car. They would tape or
glue the wheels onto the car, choose the color of numbered sticker
they wanted and stick it to the car. At the end of 10 weeks, they
each had a great little train to put up in their homes. It was so
popular, that if a Sunday were missed, the children (or parents) would
let me know which car they needed so they could have a complete set!
(Go to the Transportation
Crafts Page for a pattern and directions)

I
made a train track background on the learning board (bulletin board)
with trees and hilly tracks, etc. Each week they watched the train
grow. It gave them a goal to reach for! Lyn
Roberts

Ten Commandment Boat

Draw a picture
of a small boat (called HONOR) with 4 bins on the deck (the bins have
the letters B, I, N and S on them) and the letters M, A, S and T on
the mast. The boat is sitting in a small cove (with the word COVET).

Point to each
of the letters B, I, N, and S and say:
"B is for BEFORE. You shall have no other God BEFORE me."
"I is for IDOL. You shall not make yourself an IDOL."
"N is for NAME. You shall not take the NAME of the Lord your
God in vain."
"S is for SABBATH. Remember the SABBATH and keep it holy."

Now point to
the word HONOR on the boat and say
"HONOR. Honor your father and your mother."

Point to each
of the letters M, A, S, and T and say:
"M is for MURDER. You shall not MURDER."
"A is for ADULTERY. You shall not commit ADULTERY."
"S is for STEAL. You shall not STEAL."
"T is for TESTIMONY. You shall not give false TESTIMONY."

Now ask,
"If a small pig is called a piglet, what is a small cove
called?" If no one answers, say, "A 'Cove-et' and that is
our last commandment: You shall not COVET" Julie Beeston

Ten Commandment Song

Sung
to the tune of "Father Abraham"

I am going to, going to obey
Even though I don't want to.
Jesus tells me to so this I'll do,
So let's just all obey,
Right arm.
Go through the first part with each command in the song -
Left arm,
right leg, left leg,
nod your head,
jump up and down,
turn around

Memory Cross Folding Paper Game - Learn the Ten Commandments Game

Memory Cross cards are a great way for children to memorize Bible verses. They will love folding the panels in a never ending loop. The Ten Commandment Cards in the video below come in a set of ten cards plus two of Jesus' Commandments. Children can memorize the commandments by reading the first panel, guessing what comes on the next panel, and then folding it over to see if they are correct. They can continue in this manner until the commandment is memorized.

Once all the Commmandments are memorized you can use them as a game. Break up your students into teams and give each team a set of cards. Mix up the cards and have the teams read them and place them in order. The team that gets them all in order first wins. Order the Ten Commandment cards from
Memory Cross Inc.